


The Living Force; Parables for Padawans

by glorious_clio



Series: Star Wars is a Faerie Tale [8]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Backstory, Fairy Tales, Gen, Jedha, Jedi Temple, Livin' that Jedi Lifestyle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 22:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12068712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorious_clio/pseuds/glorious_clio
Summary: Since infancy, younglings are taught the Jedi Code, "Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force." Obi-Wan Kenobi learns these tenets backwards and forwards again. But even as a child, he is interested in nuance. And so his teachers tell him parables.





	The Living Force; Parables for Padawans

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Living Force; Parables for Padawans](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/322473) by glorious.clio. 



> Thank you, thank you, thank you, to lalalalalawhy for beta reading this story, and all of the eight (!!!) faerie tales that I wrote for my favorite eight characters in Star Wars. While I am a firm believer in "never say never", I am happy to close the curtain on this series, at least for the foreseeable future. I've so enjoyed the challenge of writing these, even if they did take all of my attention. And lalalalalawhy was endlessly patient with me, full of helpful advice and necessary critiques. Thank you, my dear friend and fellow Adventurekateer. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank zephyr42 - one of these parables is actually yours. <3
> 
> Any mistakes remain my own.

__

 

_In the beginning, there was nothing._

_And then, there was the Living Force -- it exploded, and out of void came life. The Living Force was a fire and a heat, and everything in the universe comes from this Living Force, every atom in the Galaxy is a result of this heat and pressure. All that is with us in the beginning will be with us in the end. The Living Force is the beginning and the end._

_Soon the chaos became order, and planets and systems were born. The Living Force wished to know itself, it wished witnesses for its creations, and so beings came into existence through the will of the Living Force. Everything is made of the Force._

_It is the Will of the Force that some beings are more sensitive to its presence. Those who embrace the darkness and destruction of the Force are called the Sith. But the true nature of the Living Force is the light and heat and creation from the beginning. Destruction will lead to back to the void. Instead, the Force will guide the Jedi to the Light, if only the Jedi allow themselves to be a vessel and a tool of the Living Force._

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi, a youngling in the Jedi créche, liked his lessons. The stories of the Force sustained him and his fellows. Lessons meant more understanding of the path he was walking. He liked hearing about the beginnings of the Galaxy, but it was hard to think about _nothing_ , the space before the big bang. It troubled him.

He liked that everything in the universe contained the Force. He tried to remind himself of this when he and his fellow créche-mates were assigned to certain chores. Even cleaning the temple was meditative and pleased the Force, the créche masters taught as they used their power to dust hard to reach places. They were allowed to play in between chores and lessons, all their meals were plentiful and nourishing. They had access to fresh and salt water pools, after the semi-aquatic beings had used them. Obi-Wan Kenobi wanted for nothing.

Except for more stories.

The Force spoke to him most strongly when his teachers gathered the créche up on soft cushions or outside in the gardens. The words seemed to speak of deeper lessons and truths. As he grew older, he learned that these stories were not literal histories, rather they were _allegorical_ truths. Obi-Wan delighted in revisiting his favorite stories, looking at them from all angles. He was determined to find facets of the Force from many points of view. It was a challenge, and he excelled at it.

 

 

_Once upon a time, in the Holy City of Jedha, there was a great teacher of the Force. This teacher trained many Guardians of the Whills, and faithfully protected the Temple of the Kyber against all harm. They commanded calmly and with great courage. But it came to pass that the teacher became one with the Force. If one trusts the Force, as this teacher did, one cannot fear death._

_The grief for this teacher was a heavy one. They had touched the lives of many in Jedha City and beyond. Many beings across the whole Galaxy came to pay their respects to the teacher, including the Elders of the Jedi Council._

_All beings have their own rituals to mark the passage into death. Jedha is an ancient place, full of its own mysteries and strong with the Force. Many faiths find truths in the Holy City, its ruins tell a story of its beginnings, but there are too many interpretations to find one truth. Though the Guardians of the Whills are natural allies to the Jedi and the Light, the ways of the Guardians are not our own. Funeral rites on Jedha are full of quiet mourning, poetry, and much light. There are seven days of food, meditation, tea. Mirrors are polished and brought into every room to reflect light, to reflect the Force._

_And at dusk on the seventh day, there is a final procession to the burial.  For honored Guardians, the final resting place of their bodies is a large catacomb in a holy cave outside Jedha City._

_It is a long and tiring procession lasting from dawn til dusk, out of the city and across the sands, rocks, in the cold elements of Jedha’s permawinter. Water is shared, but food is forbidden. Only the strongest are allowed to go._

_If they can, most choose to ride. Some on speeders, some on local beasts. All of the students of the teacher were offered a seat on a transport, courtesy of the Temple of the Kyber. Progress was slow as they followed the casket, mile after mile after mile._

_No tears or words were wasted, some meditated. The grief was heaviest this last day, and most were lost in their own emotions. One student gazed out at the rocky terrain and watched those who followed behind on foot. The long march with few breaks to rest was a kind of meditation too. The student was pondering this when they saw an older man trip and fall to the ground._

_In a moment, the student had rushed up to the transport and told the driver to stop before anyone had realized what had happened. The student went out to see if they could help the fallen man. After making assurances that the older man was fine, the student offered up their seat and followed the retinue to the catacombs._

_All this, a Jedi Elder watched._

_The student walked the rest of the way to the catacombs. They stood during the long ceremony. And they walked back, silently meditating, but feeling the Force with every step, aware of the exhaustion of those who walked with them. Yet, all was well. They took it all in, and let it go again._

_Mile after mile, they walked through the cold night back to the Holy City. As the retinue turned to climb the Mesa, the watching Elder Jedi rested a hand on the student’s shoulder._

_“You have shown great Peace this last day. And now dawn has broken.” The Jedi looked up at the new light._

_They bowed. “Yes, Master Jedi. Dawn is here, and the emotion must be set aside.” The student refused to take the compliment, preferring to comment on the ways of the Universe, the ways of the Force._

_“Yet you were able to set yours aside late yesterday,” the Jedi insisted._

_The student shrugged. “I saw a need. If I can lessen the suffering of another, I will take their suffering on. It is the way of the Guardians of the Whills.”_

_The Jedi looked the student up and down. “Very wise, for one so young. But suffering can lead to the Dark Side.”_

_“Only if it is born of fear. Suffering freely taken out of compassion is an act of Light. If the man had not been helped, perhaps that would have been his first fall on the path to the Dark Side.”_

_The Master Jedi drew up their hood. “Again I will say, you are very wise for one so young. Yet most of our initiates are much younger than you.”_

_The student remained silent, sensing the Jedi had not finished._

_Indeed, after another moment, the Jedi continued, “Should you wish to join us, I could find a place for you.”_

_The student bowed again and said, “I am honored by your offer. But the Force tells me that my place is here among the Guardians.”_

_“There is not much I could teach you, beyond the ways of the lightsaber. May the Force be with you.”_

_The Jedi knew as well as well as the student that they had demonstrated a lesson of the Force:_

_Emotion, yet peace._

 

 

“Good, good,” encouraged Master Yoda, not much bigger than the younglings that surrounded him.

But Obi-Wan didn’t feel like he was doing good. The training remote had zapped him six times already, and the blast helmet blocking his vision was heavy. And Bear Clan had gotten the giggles last night; no one in the dormitory had gotten much sleep. _And_ Obi-Wan had slammed a finger in a door this morning. It was all bruised and he was holding the practice lightsaber very gently.

On top of everything else, it was still thirty minutes until lunch.

Obi-Wan was tired, hungry, and frustrated, and now the horrible training remote had zapped him _again_. Probably this was the worst day ever, and when Master Yoda saw his failures, he was probably going to be kicked out of the Order and living on the streets of Coruscant and then he would just have to _starve_ to death....

And as if to punctuate the point, Obi-Wan’s tummy rumbled. He couldn’t help it, tears of frustration started to fall.  

Master Yoda noticed the spike of emotion and, quietly dismissing the rest of the younglings, approached Obi-Wan Kenobi. He couldn’t help it, he started crying harder. Here it came, the boot. Pack your spare tunic, Kenobi.

“Upset are you, Obi-Wan? Facing what trials today?”

“I hurt my finger, and I’m hungry and I keep getting zapped by the training remote.”

Yoda stooped down into his preferred meditative position and drew Obi-Wan next to him.

“To the Force, offer your emotions, young Obi-Wan. And then, lunch you may have.”

Obi-Wan took several calming breaths and with Yoda’s help, dropped into the Force.

 

 

_Once upon a time, there was a proud mermaid. She was a lovely thing with white hair and a silver tail with orange markings. The mermaid loved swimming with her family, and combing her long hair and that of her sisters with her delicate golden combs. She liked hunting for fish, she knew how to escape a predator relying solely on her agility. The sea was full of curiosities for her to explore with her family. She adored the shining pearls on the seafloor. The colorful fish were beautiful, with their elaborate spines, ruffles, stripes, or spots, even if they were poisonous. The krill-eating whales were nothing to be afraid of, the sharks would eat her just as soon as look at her, but they had their own kind of beauty; long and lean and full of teeth._

_Like all mermaids, she could read in the Stars the pasts and the futures of all living things. The Stars could tell stories of great warriors and leaders and foolish people who have ended up imprisoned in the fires of the celestial bodies. The Stars told of magic flowers and totems, of twins who pledged to protect each other, sharing immortality between them. They spoke of couples who shared true love but were destined to be apart._

_It was a night quite like any other night, the mermaid rested on the surface, stargazing on the barrier between her home and the home of the land creatures. The sea was quiet, but the Stars, oh, the Stars foretold such terrible futures. There was fire and pain, soldiers all with the same features, the twins who shared immortality seemed to be torn apart, the lovers pushed even farther, and the Mermaid witnessed all of this and wept._

_Mermaid tears are rare and not like ordinary tears, for they are sea creatures born of foam. A mermaid’s tears gather on her face and turn into pearls. And this Mermaid wept seven pearls into the sea, before swimming with all her might to the land._

_In the grotto along the rocky coast lived a wise and calm master Jedi. Even a mermaid knows of the Jedi, how they have mastered the Force, and that they can be sought in times of distress._

_“Master Jedi, I have come seeking your wisdom and your advice,” she cried when she saw the Jedi meditating on the shore._

_“What is it, my child?” they asked, for the Jedi could see the mermaid was distressed. Her pale face was red, and pearl-dust still shimmered on her cheeks._

_“I have seen a great tragedy in the Stars, and they have never lied to me before!”_

_The Jedi regarded her very carefully. They stood up and walked into the water so that they might better hear the mermaid._

_“Tell me what you saw and I shall try to help.”_

_So she told the Jedi of the horror, the fire, the pain, the murder even of Stars: all that was to come. The Jedi remained silent, listening and thinking._

_“All of this came to you in a clear vision?”_

_“Yes, Master Jedi.”_

_“And did it tell you when to expect these disasters?”_

_The mermaid hiccuped. “Why, no. No, the Stars are... rarely so precise.”_

_“Time is a construct,” the Master Jedi told the mermaid. “And the time measured by stars is far greater than we mortals can measure.”_

_“But surely, in any age, Star Killers are to be feared.”_

_The Jedi quirked an eyebrow. “Do you think the Stars afraid? Is that why they sent you this vision?”_

_The mermaid hiccuped again. “I don’t know.”_

_“I think it likely you saw the future,” the Jedi said, their voice calm and measured. “But the future is difficult to see properly. We cannot know when or why this may come to pass, and you may not be here to see it. There is much we do not know, but we can ask the Force for knowledge.”_

_The Jedi meditated for three days and three nights without pause. The mermaid joined in during the day, but by night, she watched the Stars. When the three days had ended, the Jedi again spoke._

_“Did the Stars give you your answer?” The Jedi asked._

_“No. Did the Force answer you?”_

_The Jedi quirked a smile. “Yes. The answer is that all will be clear in time. What has been revealed to you may still come, though the Force tells me it is not an immediate concern. The knowledge of what to do with this information is yet clouded. If you have patience, understanding will come, and in that waiting time, you will only grow wiser in the ways of the universe.” With that, the Jedi returned to their cave._

_And as long as the mermaid lived, she remembered the words of the Master Jedi. For what she saw in the Stars that night never came to pass in her lifetime.  That day, she learned a lesson of the Force:_

_Ignorance, yet Knowledge_

 

 

It was the eve of the Gathering. Obi-Wan Kenobi and the others in Bear Clan had no idea what to expect. Master Yoda told them very little to prepare them. Obi-Wan Kenobi was standing outside the door of the Jedi Archive’s reading room, mustering the courage to open the door.

He hadn’t spent much time here, even though he’d like to. Maybe when he was a Master he would have more time to read all the files in the Archives, but for now, duties and studies with Bear Clan took up much of his time. All the Bear Clan initiates were all nervous about the Gathering and the Initiate Trials, even though Master Yoda told them to offer their anxieties to the Force.  

Obi-Wan itched to have his own lightsaber, but was apprehensive, too. For a full lunar cycle before the Gathering, he could barely swallow his food at mealtimes, and sleep didn’t come easy, though he was bone tired.

He took a deep breath and took the last step to the door, which opened before him. Without looking left or right, he strode to the reference desk, trying to look confident.

The librarian at the desk sized him up, and said, “How may I help you, young child?”

She was an imperious looking human woman, with light skin, lighter hair, her blue eyes seemed to peer curiously into him.

“I... I wish to know about The Gathering, Master....”

“Nu,” she said. “Jocasta will do fine, however. And you are?”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. Of Bear Clan?”

“Well, you’re not the first to come looking for answers in the archives, child. But yes, I have some resources set aside for just your purpose.”

She settled him in at a terminal, listed the rules in a firm voice, and then said, “You came to the right place, you know. But you may not find what you are looking for -- the mysteries of the Force are uniquely revealed to each being.” She paused, considering him. “You are in Bear Clan? Master Yoda has helped you unlock all you need to know already.”

“Master Yoda is a wise Master, strong in the Force,” Obi-Wan praised quickly. “Only I had more questions.”

She quirked a grin at him. “You’re welcome to stay until closing time in three standard hours.”  

Obi-Wan read the files she had drawn up. He wasn’t sure any of this information would help him this week; he barely recognized what he was looking at.

That night, listening to Bear Clan try and sleep around him, he decided if the Gathering was too challenging, he’d have to trust the Force he would know what to do. This was probably the challenge anyway.

 

 

_Once upon a time there was a child who wished to grow up -- his aspiration was to be a Champion -- to have adventures and to make the world a better place. It is a noble goal, if a bit aimless._

_He dallied at his chores, daydreamed during his lessons, and distanced himself from those around him, fantasizing on the day he could go off to seek his destiny. It was a passion that consumed his every waking thought._

_And it made him reckless._

_His lack of focus led to mistakes, sometimes narrowly avoiding injury. Often he was lectured by his parents on his responsibilities. This did not always help.  Finally, out of desperation, he was told to speak to his grandmother about it._

_He loved his grandmother, a bent crone with flashing eyes and a reputation for being a witch._

_“Well my grandson, what insurmountable problem have your parents sent me to solve?”_

_“Grandmother, I’m bored here. I want adventure!”_

_Her lips twitched, like she was hiding a grin. “You know, it is sometimes a curse for others to wish adventures on you. Adventures are hard, they try your body and your soul.”_

_“But that’s exactly what I want, Grandmother! The chance of it!”_

_She sat heavily at her table and took his hand in hers._

_“Then you must go -- you’re old enough now. Walk to the wilderness at the end of the world and see what you might find there.”_

_So he left, kissing his grandmother and his parents on the cheek as he did so. His grandmother pressed an ever-full flask into his hand, his father gave him his heavy cloak, and his mother, a small dagger for protection. The youth walked down the path that he knew so well, pausing at the gate to swallow a little thrill of fear._

_And on he went for miles and miles and miles. It was difficult at first, sleeping rough and eating what he could find. His feet blistered and calloused, his baby fat turned to muscle. But he found that if he kept his eyes on the horizon, his mind would clear and for the first time in his life, the young man found focus._

_He walked for a year a day and finally he came to the edge of the world._

_And there, as if they were waiting for him, was a Jedi Master._

_The young man fell to his knees and waited for them to open their eyes. After a time the Master did._

_“Hello there. I have been expecting you,” said the Jedi._

_“How could you know I was coming? You are at the end of the world!” the young man asked._

_“Through the Force,” the Jedi said._

_“What’s the Force?”_

_“An astute question. The Force is vast and unknowable, to some it is solar winds, to others a mighty river, but to all, the Force is what guides our every move.”_

_“And it told you I was coming?”_

_“In a manner of speaking, yes.”_

_“Can you teach me the ways of the Force?” the young man asked, growing excited._

_The Jedi quirked a smile that reminded him of his grandmother._

_“I think you have already found the way of the Force in you, child. I think it comes to your best when you focus on the horizon and keep one foot in front of the other. Your energy feels much more peaceful now than when you began your journey. But I sense you are not quite finished with your passion for adventure yet.”_

_“You mean, keep walking?”_

_“What better way to find your path? And perhaps you will find your way back to me again. If you still wish to learn, then I shall teach you.”_

_So the young man rested the night with the Jedi, and in the morning, he packed up his belongings and when on his, having learned a lesson of the Force:_

_Passion, yet Serenity_

 

 

Master Depa Billaba sat in meditation as Obi-Wan approached her, as quietly as possible. Not sure if he should pull her back from meditation or not, he shifted his weight, a little awkwardly.

He glanced around. He’d never been in this part of the temple, dedicated as it was to the High Council and the examination rooms. The ceilings were vaulted, the room was darker to facilitate meditation. There was no furniture, it felt like a large empty hall of a transport station.

He liked Master Billaba, she had taught Form III to Bear Clan, and Obi-Wan was always eager to learn new lightsaber techniques. Form III had come naturally to his body, and he liked to think Master Billaba approved of him.  

But she still hadn’t moved.

Unsure, Obi-Wan sank to his knees and tried to still his pounding heart. Initiate Tests were a rite that was shrouded in mystery, in the Force. He didn’t know what to expect, so he followed the Master’s lead and dropped into meditation.

He lost track of time, following threads of the Force, and he found Master Billaba there. She led him through the meditation, a forest of trees and streams, to the other side and they both came back to their ordinary consciousness.  

Obi-Wan inclined his head to her in a bow.  

“Do you seek to further your journey in the ways of the Force?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan breathed.

“First you must recite the Code,” she commanded.

“Emotion, yet Peace,” Obi-Wan began in a voice that was steadier now. He carefully chanted the tenants of the Force that Yoda had taught him, his mind lingering on the parables he was still learning from. “Ignorance, yet Knowledge....” he carried on, until the last two words he spoke with as much conviction has he had. “The Force.”

“Do you seek to further your journey in the ways of the Force?” she asked again.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan agreed a second time.

Master Billaba nodded. “I have seen enough of your lightsaber training to know, but I hope you will indulge me.”

She stood and ignited her blade. No sooner had Obi-Wan ignited his own new, blue blade then she attacked. Obi-Wan felt his body match her Form III attacks and soon enough, Master Billaba decided she need go no further.

“Do you seek to further your journey in the ways of the Force?” she asked a third time.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan managed to spit out.

“Very good,” she declared.

Obi-Wan took a knee, allowing his breathing to return to normal.

Master Billaba crossed the room and returned again with a tray of tea. While Obi-Wan rested, she performed an elaborate tea ceremony for his benefit. Obi-Wan felt the Force move to heat the water, to open the leaves, felt it dissipate through the water and the steam. He relaxed and took his first sip of the golden liquid.  

“Now a test of your judgement,” Master Billaba said. “Which tenant of the Force is the most important?”

They argued long into the night, going around and around theories and stories and examples. Master Billaba listened to his arguments, tore them to shreds, helped them build them again. The tea was long gone before she dismissed him.

He wasn’t sure how well he had done. He knew he passed the first two tests, but the third? None of Bear Clan questioned each other, but by the end of the week, Master Yoda had announced that they had all passed their Initiate Trials. They were padawans now, and Master Yoda helped them place silka beads the color of their kyber crystals in the braids they had been growing since their arrival at the temple.

 

 

_Once upon a time, there was a planet full of wilderness, strong in the Force. The wilderness was mostly dry expanses of desert, and sometimes the trees one saw in the distance were mirages, no help to anyone. But there were true oases, and one was home to a Master Jedi. There were other creatures living there too. Some were friendly with the Jedi, most steered clear._

_It was the rainy season and already the few water sources had reached capacity. What was a gift was turning into a curse as the floodwaters rose._

_Meanwhile, a firebird, a magnificent proud thing with brilliant plumages, sat sheltered as best she could in a bush watching the waters rise with growing dread. Being made almost completely of fire, the rainy season was her least favorite time of year.  If the wet put out her flames, she would die, and if her ashes scattered, she might not be reborn._

_She peered into the rain._

_It was then she spotted a snarling wolf.  His gray fur was matted, and his hind quarter had been grazed by an unknown attacker._

_“Stop!” she called. “I can help you with your wound!”_

_The wolf turned. “And why would you help me?” he said._

_“I can heal your wound if only you would take me to the Master Jedi. This rain will kill us all if it goes much longer. Perhaps the Jedi could help us both.”_

_The wolf seemed to consider. He trotted closer and sniffed the brimstone smell of the firebird. She allowed this indignity, but she was impatient, even desperate._

_“Well?” she asked._

_“My coat will smell like ash for weeks,” he growled._

_“Only if you don’t hurry.” She touched her fiery wing to his flank.  He flinched, but when she removed her feathers, he was healed, if scarred._

_“Fine,” the wolf said._

_She perched on his shoulders and tried to shelter into his neck as he hurried across the rising water over the desert sand. When they arrived at the oasis, the Jedi sat meditating under a tree that was a strong conduit of the light side of the Force, indifferent to the rain and his new guests._

_The firebird flew up into the tree to escape the wet._

_“Master Jedi,” she called down. “Please help us, the rain will not stop, the planet is flooding!”_

_The wolf growled. “She begged me to come here, don’t ignore her, Jedi.”_

_The Jedi slowly opened their eyes._

_“I would never ignore someone in need. But you know, floods are not unusual to the rainy season.”_

_“But Master,” the firebird said, “surely you can see this flood is going to affect all who live here. We may not survive!”_

_The Jedi frowned.  “Please, if you are in immediate danger, you will be well protected if you stay in my tree.”_

_“And me?” The wolf asked. “The firebird lives on heat and sunlight, but if all my prey dies, what shall I eat?”_

_The Jedi sighed. “Very well.”_

_And calling on their ally, the Force, the Jedi slipped into deep meditation. For seven days and seven nights, the wolf and the firebird were unable to call them back. But on the fourth day, the rain stopped. On the sixth day, the water retreated from the oasis. On the seventh, the Jedi opened their eyes again._

_“Now go out into the world and you will see: fertile ground and lush greens, creatures feeding on the plants, and abundance all around. For both of you. This rain has brought you together and you have saved each other from grave harm. This bond is not easily broken.”_

_And so, the wolf and the firebird learned a lesson of the Force:_

_Chaos, yet Harmony_

 

 

The initiates from Bear Clan had a year and a day to find a Master to take them on as an apprentice.  

It had once felt like the Jedi had filled every corner of the temple, but Obi-Wan still felt he was struggling to find a master. He practiced his lightsaber forms every day, he kept up with his studies in the archives, he completed all his chores. He kept his clothes neat and his braid perfect, hoping that soon he would find a Master to teach him.  

He would have liked to study under Yoda, but Yoda was just starting a sabbatical -- times of contemplation and reflection undertaken by Jedi Masters after a clan graduates or a padawan’s training is complete.  

The Bear Clan dormitory emptied over the weeks as they found masters to teach them, and soon, Obi-Wan was one of only a handful who remained in the dormitory. He tried not to panic about this. On a day halfway through the year of waiting, Obi-Wan took his frustration out into the meditation labyrinth to walk the paths with it and to find his next steps with the Force.

To his surprise, he discovered Master Adi Gallia.

“I thought you were on Jedha studying their crystals?” Obi-Wan asked after the proper greetings had been exchanged.

She smiled at the boy, and his unasked question. “I am here to seek a several resources in the archives. I will return to my study in Jedha City in a few weeks.”

Obi-Wan tried not to let his expression change. Her Sabbatical was not finished. Would anyone take him on as their apprentice? And what happened then?

“Walk with me, young Kenobi.”

Together they set out on the path, stepping gently and engaging with the Force.

“This time is a gift, you know. The in-between times: in between apprentices, in between missions, in between youngling and padawan.”

“It feels like too much time,” Obi-Wan admitted.

Master Gallia laughed. “The way we measure time is a construct outside the Force. What is the time between the death of a flower and the germination of its seed? Or the dramatic Supernova, which leads to either a neutron star, or a black hole.”

She paused, Obi-Wan turned towards her as she continued. “That’s exactly what this is. You have a choice what to do with this time. Become a new star, or a void that takes but does not give.”

“This space, this time, this gift,” she added. “What will you do with it?”

 

 

 

_Once upon a time, there was a Jedi, meditating atop a high mountain. The air was thin, but the Jedi was in the depths of the Force, and did not need anything to sustain them._

_After seven years of this, the Jedi was awakened by a disturbance. Casting their gaze around, they saw they had been joined by another being. The Jedi got to their feet._

_“Hello there. Who are you and why do you come?”_

_‘I am a Trickster,’ it replied. The voice was neither high nor low, nothing to betray the species, age, gender or anything about the speaker. Its face was hidden behind a mask. “I am strong in the Force, the strongest of my kind, and I wish to challenge you.”_

_But the Jedi knew -- this was a Sith, for the Force moved darkly around it._

_The Jedi bowed low. “Welcome.”_

_“Thank you, Master Jedi,” it replied, its voice thick with scorn._

_“By all means, proceed with your challenges,” the Jedi said._

_Their brow was smooth, their arms crossed, every cell of them seemed to be at peace. Even when the Sith ignited its lightsaber. “The first shall test your skill.”_

_The battled raged for three days, the two masters were well-matched, but finally, the Jedi disarmed the Sith and destroyed the red saber. Calmly, the Jedi put their own lightsaber away._

_“And what is the second challenge?”_

_The Sith caught its breath. “Courage.” And it called down a Star Dragon._

_The dragons that light the days are peculiar creatures, jealous and proud. And hungry. They also hide their hearts, making them nearly impossible to kill._

_“You would be wise to fear me,” the dragon said._

_“Perhaps,” the Jedi said._

_The Jedi offered their fear to the Force and met the eye of the dragon. And then the Jedi contained themselves within the Force, and no matter how mightily the dragon blew her fire, she could not touch them._

_“Enough!” cried the Trickster, and the dragon returned to her sky home._

_The Jedi got to their feet._

_“Next shall be a test of Spirit,” the Trickster said._

_Using the Force, it began casting boulders, trees, anything it could lift at the Jedi. The Jedi caught all the items and gently put them back._

_Eventually the Trickster tired of this and howled, “Now a test of your Flesh!” Foregoing the nature around it, it cast lightning out of its hands at the Jedi._

_Swiftly, the Jedi withdrew their lightsaber and caught all of the ferocious lightning in their blade. Again, the Trickster grew frustrated, though it tried to hide it behind the mask._

_“And now,” it said, changing tactics again, “I shall test your Insight. The Dark Side of the Force grants my powers you could never dream of. I shall bring about your destruction, Jedi.”_

_“You may try,” the Jedi said. “But even from destruction, creation will flower. It is the way of the Force.”_

_“You cannot return from Death!” the Trickster raged._

_“As you say,” the Jedi said._

_And so the Sith called down such evil from the Force; the skies rained fire, and soon the once peaceful mountain was destroyed. The Jedi’s body was killed, and so too was the Sith’s._

_But of the Jedi’s lightsaber, there remained the kyber crystal. And the crystal took root and grew tall and strong, as big as a Wroshyr tree. Eventually, the tree fruited golden apples._

_And so the last lesson is this:_

_Death, yet the Force_

 

 

The year and a day to find a master was coming to a close. Obi-Wan was concerned, but wasn’t in the full rush of panic, yet. For now, he was keeping busy: helping to tutor younglings with their practice lightsabers, meditating in the gardens, swimming in the freshwater pool.

One day he was poring over some records in the archives for Master Gallia about ancient kyber harvestings, records that predated intergalactic travel. He leaned closer to the terminal, looking at the footnotes when he felt a presence approach him quietly.  Obi-Wan looked up, way up, to the face of Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

“Greetings, young Kenobi.”

“Hello, Master Jinn,” Obi-Wan said, feeling a little awkward, wondering if he should stand.

Master Jinn sat, sparing Obi-Wan. “What’s that you’re looking at?” he asked kindly.

“Ancient references to kyber crystals,” said Obi-Wan, backing up a few pages in his database spelunking to the search results. “Only they’re not always called that, today I was researching ‘Heart Stars’ for Master Gallia’s sabbatical research.”

Qui-Gon Jinn smiled at Obi-Wan. “And you’re looking at...” he leaned closer to the terminal to look at the results, as Obi-Wan had done a moment ago. “Faerie Tales?”

Obi-Wan flushed, but stood his ground. “They’re very old stories, sometimes they contain their own truths. From a certain point of view. Master Gallia finds them interesting, anyway. She thinks that ancient Faerie Tales and folklore can be tools of the Force, but also vessels, new ways of looking at crystals. Well, old ways, I guess. Forgotten ways.”

“And do you find them as interesting as she does?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said. “I do. And helping her with her research....”

“Have you been apprenticed yet?” Qui-Gon considered the initiate, sizing him up.

“Not yet,” Obi-Wan admitted, turning back to the database. He clicked the next article open.  

“Hmmmm,” said Master Jinn. He leaned back in his chair and watched. Despite this, Obi-Wan lost himself in the research once more, guiding himself through the databases as if they were the labyrinth outside, trusting he would take root somewhere in the temple.

 

_In its own time, the Force will guide you to the Light, if only you follow the Code:_

_Emotion, yet peace.  
_ _Ignorance, yet knowledge.  
_ _Passion, yet serenity.  
_ _Chaos, yet harmony._  
_Death, yet the Force._


End file.
